TOWSON, Md. - What coach doesn't want to play in a new arena? Especially when your current building was built in 1976 and is one of the most outdated indoor facilities in the Colonial Athletic Association.
 
Pat Skerry's current office at the Towson Center sits adjacent to nearly-constructed "Tiger Arena". He can see the progress made on the building just by looking out his window, driving by every day or walking over to the construction site.
 
"It's unbelievable how big it is," said Skerry. "The seats aren't in yet. The locker room (still located in the Towson Center) is expected to be renovated this summer. The visitors have a longer walk. We have six steps and a tunnel right into the arena. We have (money) to renovate the Towson Center. Eventually we will have the far court as a the practice gym and our offices will overlook that by the old bleachers. The (new) arena is getting done and if you go through it, it's going to be impressive. This year, they are so far ahead because there were no snow days. By next spring, we'll be able to get in there for workouts."
 
Since the 2011-12 season ended, Skerry was also able to work with some of the returning players in offseason workouts, though he admitted he leaned on his remaining assistant coaches Kevin Clark and Luke Murray.
 
"I kind of stepped back a little bit," Skerry said. "Coach Murray and Coach Clark have run the workouts and they've been great. Guys have gotten markedly better. Jervon Pressley, Marcus Damas and Kris Walden have been working hard. Jerrelle Benimon and Mike Burwell have had great sit-out years. We focused on a lot of skill work. Playing low, moves off the dribble, passing, using ball screens and shooting."
 
One of the more intriguing players returning is Pressley, the 6-7 forward from North Carolina. He averaged 3.6 points per game and 3.0 rebounds per game in a little over 17 minutes per contest. He had 8 points and 5 rebounds in 17 minutes in the Tigers' loss to Delaware in the first round of the CAA Tournament and 7 points and 5 rebounds against James Madison in the regular season finale, so there was progress starting to show in his game.
 
"Jervon is learning to play with lower hips, posting with contact and coming better with his jump hooks," said Skerry. "Jervon made strides and finished strong. This is an important offseason for him. Can he become a key guy for us? He has the physical tools. We had him on the floor a good amount as a freshman and he did a good job. Now he has to continue to develop in all phases."
 
With Providence transfer Bilal Dixon coming to play center and Georgetown transfer Benimon arriving to play power forward, Pressley will have to battle for playing time. 
 
Damas scorered the most points on the team last year and averaged 12.5 points per game as a sophomore transfer from Westchester Community College (N.Y). The athletic 6-7 small forward shot 36% from the field and 31% from beyond the arc.
 
"Marcus is getting better going left," said Skerry. "Marcus had a good year, but he needs to become more consistent and change his body. He played somewhat out of position (last year). He handled the ball more than we thought he would and has gotten better."
 
Walden had the toughest job last season, playing as a freshman point guard against a very tough schedule with a young team and no other point guards on the roster outside of walk-ons. He averaged 6.6 points per game and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 31% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. He struggled with turnovers (144) but made major progress in the final 1/3 of the season. In the CAA Tournament against Delaware, Walden scored 13 points, dished out three assists and turned the ball over just twice. In the previous game against James Madison, he scored a career-high 23 points, hit five three-pointers and turned it over just twice.
 
"Kris is getting better at using ballscreens and acquiring a quicker release," said Skerry. "He has a good will to him and is very tough. He finished the year very well. He cut down on his turnovers from where he started."
 
Skerry expects several newcomers to come on campus early for summer session including prized freshmen Barrington Alston and Jerome Hairston.
 
"The NCAA has given us the ability to work our players two hours a week for eight weeks," said Skerry. "They can still work with our strength coach 6-8 hours a week. I'm going to use three weeks with a smaller number of guys on skill work. In the second (summer) session, we are going to practice with a heavy emphasis on defense."
 
Skerry is cautiously optimistic about next season even though the roster is almost turned over completely and the talent level is the best on paper in many years.
 
"We are clearly going to be more talented with the basketball," said Skerry. "We have to rebound and guard to overachieve and get where we want to get. Usually, freshmen who come in have some gifts offensively but they have room to grow defensively. If we get two or three of those guys ahead of the game in terms of instruction, that's important for us."

-TowsonTigers.com-